Power line project would cut through Baltimore region’s preserved land, farms

The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would carve a 70-mile path through largely rural areas of Baltimore , Carroll and Frederick counties.

Opponents say government land preservation programs have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to purchase development rights placing land in perpetual easements.

PJM , the grid operator for 13 states and D.C. , awarded a contract last year for work on the Maryland project.

PSEG has been reviewing feedback from information sessions and a public comments page on its website.

The company plans to announce a recommended route later this year , then file for a permit.

The Piedmont line is part of roughly $5 billion worth of transmission system expansion projects proposed by PJM .

Lisa Carton , who owns Black Locust Hops Farm Brewery , said the proposed power line would not cross their Freeland property.

Carton and many other nearby property owners have land in agricultural and forest buffer easements and follow strict county zoning rules.

Frederick , a leader of Stop MPRP , said she began organizing residents, farmers, and land owners across the three counties.